At least one post each workday offering the perspective of a simple liberal working man.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

President Bush Just Makes Stuff Up... Again

There are several stories getting major attention from Robert Drapers interviews with President Bush. One of the major stories revolves around the President's claim to Draper that his policy was to keep the Iraqi military organized after the invasion, but Paul Bremer inexpicably pulled a wild cannon and that policy was mysteriously changed without the President having anything to say about it. When Bremer heard this tall tale he produced documentation proving that Bremer followed Presidential instruction to the letter and was fully supported by the President. Which makes Bush either very forgetful regarding one of the biggest policy errors of his disastrous regime, or a flat our liar. Which is worse?

Looking at the N.Y. Times report on the book, I found one of the ending sentences further illustrative of the Presidents lack of candor, or mental capacity.

“One interesting question historians are going to have to answer is: Would Saddam have behaved differently if he hadn’t gotten mixed signals between the first resolution and the failure of the second resolution?” Mr. Bush said. “I can’t answer that question. I was hopeful that diplomacy would work.”

There are reams of evidence that demonstrate the absurdity of Bush's claims that the Iraq war was the last resort. In fact the basic circumstances of the war prove the lie in this case. We invaded Iraq without being attacked. In fact the policy which led us to war in Iraq even has the Presidents name on it: The Bush Doctrine, which Karl Rove preaches will be one of the greatest legacies passed from Bush to future generations of leaders. (As if future leaders, after looking at the wasted landscape left by this President, will allow themselves to be entrapped by forwarding the dunderheaded policies which led to this quagmire... but nice try Karl.) The Bush doctrine explicitly calls for preemptive attack when America is threatened. How that meshes with "I was hopeful that diplomacy would work" is simply beyond me.

Beyond the explicit policy and all the other evidence that has accumulated over the years proving the determination of this Administration to invade Iraq no matter what, today brings yet more proof of the obvious. Sydney Blumenthal reports for Salon that Bush was personally briefed by George Tenet in mid September of 2002 that the CIA had top secret intelligence that Saddam's government did not have WMD.

On Sept. 18, 2002, CIA director George Tenet briefed President Bush in the Oval Office on top-secret intelligence that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, according to two former senior CIA officers. Bush dismissed as worthless this information from the Iraqi foreign minister, a member of Saddam's inner circle, although it turned out to be accurate in every detail. Tenet never brought it up again.

At this point the evidence of deception and obfuscation by the administration in driving the nation to war in Iraq is simply overwhelming. Yet somehow each time I see a new revelation affirming what we already know, I just feel a bit more outraged. Look at the needless death and carnage, the loss of American prestige and honor... the division of our people, and all the other needless calamity brought about by this administrations bull headed determination to fight a war that we didn't have to fight.

So we hear Bush telling his biographers that he wanted diplomacy to work. How absolutely maddening! Up is down, black is white and Bush wanted peace but was driven to war by Saddam. Even though there were inspectors on the ground in Iraq and Collin Powel is on video a year before the invasion telling the truth about Saddam: He was contained and not a threat.

And we see the same reliable group of talking heads and media personalities that cheered as the nation was driven to this quagmire still supporting the President. The entire lot of them should be embarrassed at themselves. However, far from being embarrassed they trumpet the cooked books and twisted intelligence being passed out by the administration in the President's sinister ploy to keep the war going until they can pass the disaster off to the next President. Then it will be that person who gets the blame... or so they hope and pray. I mean has there ever been a time in a nations history when the goal of a nations leaders was to mindlessly extend a war, rather than concluding it, simply to pass the buck to the next leader? Shame on them...

It is as if Bush is a petulant child, determined that if his Presidency flounders upon the shoals of his own mistaken policy that he will do his best to insure that the next President is beset with those same problems as well. Bush's goal at this stage of the game is to curse the next President with quagmire. Bush will measure his own success by the yardstick of insuring that the next President is belabored with Bush's problems.

Thats real leadership Mr. President. Come to think of it, that is exactly what the nation should expect from a man who drove the nation to needless war while proclaiming all along that he was hoping that diplomacy would work.

About Me

Bhfrik stands for bald headed freak. I am a proud liberal, married to a staunch libertarian conservative. We have two cats, Xiahou Meow and Rustee, who rule our household with velvet paws. You can email me @ bhfrik At Gmail dot com.